Vintage Car Race- Which Lens?

The day is fast approaching when we finally get to run our 1969 McLaren Formula 5000

after 17 years of on-and-off rebuilding. Since I won't be driving, I plan to capture the

"event" at a vintage race in a couple of weeks outside Reno, Nevada. I have been planning

on purchasing a Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 VR lens and a 2x TC, but I've been reading good

reviews about the Sigma 120-300mm f/2.8. Price is about the same for both setups, but

I'm concerned about the DOF with Nikon setup (only down to 5.6). I'll be using my D2x.

 

My tendency is to stick with Nikon glass because everything else in my setup is top-end

Nikkor, but that Sigma looks very intriguing, and the one Sigma lens I've ever owned I

thought was very good. Larger Nikon glass is out of the question because I don't want to

spend more than $2k. Because this event is at a local SCCA track, I'll have better access

than I would if I

were at, say, an F1 track, but I don't want to rule out the possibilty of future runs at races

such as the vintage Long Beach events, which have more restrictive access (and thus the

need for

possibly more reach).

 

Any thoughts on either setup? Is the Nikon's 5.6 wide enough? Will I miss the 600mm of

the Nikon vs

the 450mm of the Sigma (considering the crop)? Is the Sigma really in the same league

optically and performance-wise (AF-S vs HSM) as the 70-200mm Nikkor? Is the Sigma

just too darn big? I really like what I see from guys here such as Jay Hector, Norman

Perkel, Witty, etc, for reference.

Good luck with the car, I hope it turns out really successfully.

 

On a motoring theme would it not be possible to get a "test-drive" of the lenses to see which is preferable before finally investing your cash ? (Not a Nikon user but am a vintage car lover and was intrigued by your title.)

Grab the Sigma it's a scorcher for the price. I bought one for one of my shooter and he is happy with it.<div></div>

Chris

I shot at the Monterey Historics this weekend and used a 300mm fixed Nikon lens which worked well. I think if you want pics of your specific car you will need at least a 300mm. I have never been able to get satisfactory results from my 80-200 Nikon and a converter imho you will be much better off with the Sigma lens. Converters should really be considered as a last resort. I also often used older lenses on my D70 I have a 400mm lens that I bought for $19.00 with a T mount that will yield as good a result than my Nikon AFS 80-200mm and a 1.4 converter. Using older lenses on a digital is a viable proposition just takes a little more time and trouble. Good luck with the car sounds like a fun outing<div></div>

Hey, I think I recognize that Ferrari! Isn't that one of the Intrepid cars? Our McLaren is

maintained

by Intrepid Motorcar, who shows heavily at Monterey (we'll be there next year).

 

Thanks for the info!

My suggestion would be to rent. You can get pro-level glass for the event and make up your mind from experience. I purchased my 70-200 (canon) f/2.8 and use it with the 2x TC for panning shots between 1/60 and 1/250 sec with the aid of a monopod. But nothing beats a prime lens for this kind of work. I wouldn't be too hung up on the speed of the lens unless the weather is going to beat you up. The lens most likely will not be as sharp as it could wide open anyway and given your distance to your subject will most likely not be shallow enough to isolate.

 

My staple has become the 300mm f/2.8 with the 2xTC and the 1.6 crop of my 10D (until I can upgrade and then most likely will be shooting primarily with a 400mm lens.)

 

Rent the two and see what works for you. It is in my opinion however that the IS lenses are also overrrated for this kind of work as for me I am panning most of the time and the IS isn't working with the monopod on to begin with. Let us see the photos when you are done and feel free to Email me if I can help at all.

 

-Norman

 

P.S. Thanks for the kind words regarding my photos BTW

Thanks Norman, and everyone else.

 

Renting is a good idea. I had intended on purchasing a fast zoom anyway. The

70-200mm range fits better with my current AF kit (12-24mm and 17-55mm zooms),

giving me less of a gap above my 17-55. My main concern was not having the DOF

reduced enough with a TC. But, as you said, rent and see... Could be a 300mm prime is

indeed in order, seeing as how I have a 105mm DC, a 90mm Tamron Macro, leaving me

only with a gap at 135 or 180.

 

However - one caveat on primes (especially in a dusty environment like a track)... I am

ALWAYS getting dust on my sensor. I must be a dust magnet. Because of that, I'm always

a bit paranoid about changing lenses often. Any thoughts on that? I have not had to clean

my D2X sensor yet, but I must have cleaned my D100 a dozen times before I finally

upgraded - thus scarring me for life. But then I watch the guys at the Dodger game last

night (yawn) just yank around their stuff with seemingly no care for dust. A suprising

number of black lenses in the pool, I might add. Still ruled by white, but not as much as in

the past!

 

On another note - do you use a head on your monopod? Or just attach direct to the stick?

If head - which one (I assume ball)?

As far as the dust/sensor issue. I am of school of thought that if I cannot see it, it isn't there... Does that mean I don't have dust on the sensor? Absolutely not. I know for certain that I not only have dust, but one large cruddy piece of junk which shows up at around f/11 or so. Being that I don't close down past f/8, I rarely see it.. If I do, I use the clone tool to remove it in PS. So I really don't worry too much about changing lenses... In fact, I change them often over the course of a race.

 

As far as the monopod goes... For shooting races, I don't use a head but rather opt to attach the threads directly to the tripod ring on the lens. I find it faster, easier to handle, and less bulky this way.

 

Hope this helps.

Out of 40 shooters yesterday i Think i counted 4 black lens.